In: A Critical Introduction to Psychology ISBN: 978-1-53616-491-6
Editor: Robert K. Beshara © 2019 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Chapter 10
CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON PERSONALITY
AND SUBJECTIVITY
Christopher R. Bell*, PhD
Department of Psychology, Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH
Personality theory is one of the most intriguing areas of psychological
inquiry, with an extensive history that reaches far beyond the emergence of
Psychology as a distinct academic discipline in the late 19th century. Unlike
some psychological concepts, such as ‘cognitive-dissonance’ or ‘post-
traumatic stress disorder’ that have unambiguous 20th century origins,
inquiries into ‘persons’ and their characteristics has been a topic of study
that has existed in various forms for millennia (Danziger, 2012, p. 59). For
instance, the physician Galen’s psychobiological theory of
character/temperament, which is derived from Hippocrates’s older system
of four humors, dates back to the 2nd century CE (Frances, 2014, p. 44).
However, as Kurt Danziger (2012) notes, “a specifically psychological
understanding of persons emerged relatively late in... history and was
effectively superimposed on rich layers of alternative meanings” (p. 59).
- Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].